AUSTRALIAN FINANCES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23394, 10 July 1939, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN FINANCES

In spite of certain adverse factors, the Commonwealth Government, according to figures published this morning, has managed to close the financial year ended June 30 with a surplus of £027,000, or £601,000 better than the estimate. Thus the sequence of surpluses begun in 1931 has not been broken, although the Treasurer had to impose additional taxation to produce £3,200,000 and to allow for the heavy demands of defence, new expenditure under the national insurance scheme, and the effect of lower export receipts in the previous year. Actually defence expenditure exceeded the swollen estimates by £1,000,000, but savings in other directions—national insurance suggests itself as one —kept total expenditure £507,000 below the anticipated figure. On the other hand revenue slightly exceeded the estimate. In all the circumstances the Federal Government has cause for satisfaction in the result although the surplus of £627,000 is much smaller than that (£3,495,000) returned in the previous year. As a large portion of the accumulated surpluses has been devoted to building up Australia's defences, on which £70,000,000 is to be spent in three years, the Treasurer will be forced in the current year to draw on other resources more heavily. In any case a final verdict on the current position of Australian public finance must await the results of the six State Budgets. These have been affected by unfavourable seasonal conditions and the consequent need to assist primary producers. Thus Victoria budgeted for a surplus of £12,000, but because of drought and bush fires, as well as the decline of receipts from railways, it has been announced that a deficit of £825,000 may be expected.